Sydney siege survivor recalls Tori Johnson’s final cry for help

An inquest into the Sydney siege has heard what is believed to be the harrowing final words of Tori Johnson before he was executed by gunman Man Haron Monis.

Selina Win Pe, who was one of the 18 hostages held in the Lindt Cafe during the December 15, 2014 incident, told the inquest she heard Mr Johnson’s final cry for help as she and several other hostages escaped.

Ms Win Pe said she heard Monis shout "get down, get down, get down on your knees" then a "strong, deep, Australian voice" say "oh my God" followed momentarily by a bang as the gunman shot Mr Johnson in the back of the head.

"They were definitely the words I heard and it was an absolutely, fearful, ‘help me God, this is it’,” Ms Win Pe said.

"A very dire, sad, frightened, last cry for help."

The survivor recounted her experiences during the siege whereby she volunteered to call media and authorities to relay demand Monis' demands.

“If I did not take responsibility and charge of the situation and speak up with the values instilled in me, we were going to die," she said.

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"I had very quickly estimated that he was someone who was clearly seeking a sense of self promotion.

"I knew that when I started to take charge to protect the people around me, and myself, and I am naturally a very strong, assertive person, and I knew he would like that."

She said Monis made the other hostages applaud her whenever she yelled or swore at an unresponsive media outlet or law authority, in one instance telling police to "f-----g do this (and) f-----g do that."

"I like that, that’s what I want," Monis allegedly told the hostage in reponse to Ms Win Pe's phone calls.

Ms Win Pe said the crushing ordeal has left her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

"I have a variety of symptoms I’m treated for to this day," she said.

"I’ve had to relearn at the ages of 43 and 44 to re-normalise and reprogram that I’m no longer in that cafe,” she said.

"My entire life has changed dramatically. It’s been a soul destroying experience."